Godzilla: Cataclysm #1Review

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The boys are back!

By Tres Dean

IDW’s recent Godzilla comics have been on a pretty solid hot streak, and while the new series from Cullen Bunn and Dave Wachter isn’t the line’s best, it certainly keeps that streak going. Post-apocalyptic fiction has started to kind of run its course lately and Bunn has found the perfect shot of adrenaline to make it feel fresh again: giant monsters. Forget mysterious diseases or zombies. Giant monsters are the new black.

Set 20 years after the kaiju apocalypse, Cataclysm is the story of the survivors and their discovery that the monsters that ravaged their world might not be through wreaking havoc. Bunn sets the kaiju of the past up as gods through some quite engrossing narration. The monsters have been elevated to this mythic, almost religious status among the remaining mortals. The effect they had on the world and the survivors is evident from the first page and it’s very cool to see what a world would look like after an age of monsters.

Wachter’s art is a bit of a letdown here, but that might just be because he has some big shoes to fill. After last year’s Godzilla: The Half-Century War featured James Stokoe putting in the best work of his career, almost any artist would pale a bit in comparison. But Wachter does some solid work here and his monster designs are on point, which is easily the most important factor to nail in a Godzilla comic. The biggest issue is the dull, washed-out color pallet he utilizes. It takes away any vibrancy or life his art may have and makes the whole book unnecessarily glum. Despite not quite living up to the legacy of some of its predecessors, Godzilla: Cataclysm delivers on its interesting premise and is sure to please longtime kaiju fans.

Good

While it isn’t the best Godzilla debut, Cataclysm is an engaging debut to IDW’s newest Godzilla series.